Stuck In The Middle
by LedZepGrl
Summary: Hyde storms from Jackie's motel room in Chicago, and goes to drink his sorrows away. After driving drunk, he gets into a horrific car accident that leaves him in a coma. Now he's stuck in the middle between life and death. With the help from a guardian, he gets to see how his life would be if he doesn't choose Jackie. Based off It's A Wonderful Life but I promise original JH style.
1. Fool In The Rain

**Stuck In The Middle**

**Prologue – Fool In The Rain**

**A/N – I don't own That 70s Show or Led Zeppelin's "Fool In The Rain"**

_**Well there's a light in your eye that keeps shining**_

_**Like a star that can't wait for the night**_

_**I hate to think I've been blinded baby**_

_**Why can't I see you tonight?**_

Steven Hyde pushed the gas pedal of the El Camino down to the floor. It didn't make a difference, he wasn't going fast enough. He needed to get there quicker. Why did Chicago have to be so far from Point Place?

It hadn't even been a day, and he already missed Jackie Burkhart like crazy. He slammed his hand down onto the steering wheel. Why did he let her go? Why didn't he just tell her that he couldn't imagine his future without her, that she IS his future?

Instead he got wasted in a beer warehouse with the guys, and just shrugged his shoulders and acted Zen when she asked for him to give a sign that they had a future together. And when she gave him one more chance to stop her from going, he said "have a nice trip".

_**And the warmth of your smile starts a-burnin'**_

_**And the thrill of your touch gives me fright**_

_**And I'm shaking so much, really yearning**_

_**Why don't you show up, make it alright?**_

And for what? To save face with his buddies, so they wouldn't call him whipped and say he was in love with her? So he could act like he didn't have feelings? Everyone already knew how deep his feelings for Jackie went. He fingered the small black box that was in the pocket of his jean jacket. The ring that sat inside was proof of how deep his feelings for her went. The idea of marriage both scared him, and sickened him. But it was something he was willing to do if it meant he got Jackie in the end.

He exited off the highway and followed the directions Kelso had given him, from when he dropped Jackie off at her motel room the night before. He had to stop himself from speeding through the neighborhoods of Chicago. Getting pulled over for speeding would only slow him down. He needed to get to her.

He finally pulled into the parking lot and parked in front of the room that was hers. He sat in his car for a moment, collecting his bearings. He slowly got out of the car and up to the door. He took a deep breath and he knocked.

"Come in!" He heard her call out.

He walked in and saw her lying on the bed in a nightgown reading a magazine.

"Hey," he said as he walked in, trying to act Zen. She looked shocked to see him, and she got up off the bed.

"Steven, umm.." she said as she walked towards him. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Ummm, nothing. Had some free time, thought I'd check out Chicago. How's it going?"

"Ummm, good," she answered. "Hey, do you want to go take a walk, get something to eat?" She asked him.

The door then opened behind them. He turned to see who would be coming into her room at this time of the night. He was welcomed by the site of Michael Kelso in nothing but a towel around his waist. At that moment, all Hyde saw was red. Then Kelso opened his mouth.

"Jackie, I checked, no one can see us doing it from the parking lot, ahhh!" He screamed as he threw the bucket of ice in the air when he saw Hyde standing in the room. There was a moment of silence as the three of them stood staring at each other, the tension thick.

All Hyde could see was red. "You're dead!" He said to Kelso as he reached for him. Kelso was quick and took off, and Hyde was left holding his towel in his hand. "I'm nude!" They could hear him exclaim.

_**And if you promised you'd love so completely**_

_**And you said you would always be true**_

_**You swore that you would never leave me, baby**_

_**What ever happened to you?**_

Hyde turned around to look at Jackie. She stood there with her hand up by her mouth, and he could see the tears in her eyes. "Steven," she started to say. But Hyde didn't want to hear it. This was the third time the idiot had come between them and he had had enough.

"Save it Jackie." He said as he turned to walk out of the room.

"Steven, please! Don't go, I can explain!" He heard her exclaim, tears in her voice.

But he was too angry. He was too angry to hear her explanation, her excuses this time. Because that's all there ever was when it came to her and Kelso. He was done. She couldn't be trusted. He had already gotten in too deep with her. It was time to cut all ties and end it before it would kill him.

He got into the El Camino and slammed the door shut. He turned the car, revved the engine, and threw the car into reverse. He then peeled off as fast as he could. He looked in the rearview mirror briefly, and saw Jackie standing in the door of the motel room, on her knees crying hysterically. It almost made him turn around and go back to her. There was nothing he hated more than seeing Jackie cry, especially when it was because of him. But he stopped himself. She had really dug her own grave this time.

_**And you thought it was only in movies**_

_**As you wish all your dreams would come true**_

_**It aint the first time believe me, baby**_

_**I'm standin here feeling blue**_

_**Yeah I'm blue**_

He drove for a long while, not sure where to go. He found himself driving back towards Point Place. He decided to stop in at the local bar, Charlie's Pub. The pain he was feeling was nothing a few beers couldn't fix followed by a circle for one. He pulled into the parking lot and parked the car and walked in. He walked straight up to the bar and sat down

"What can I get ya?" The bartender asked. He looked up to see what the female bartender speaking to him looked like. He smirked when he found her to be a voluptuous blonde. Jackie's complete opposite. She gave him a flirty smile when she saw him smirk.

"Whatever you got on tap," he told her. She served him his beer, and he chugged it down. He slammed the glass down on the bar. "Refill." He stated. She took his glass and filled his glass with a smile.

"So what happened?" She asked.

He took a sip of his beer. "Why did something have to necessarily happen?" He asked her.

"I've been a bartender a long time," she said. "When someone comes in and slams a beer back like that, it's usually because something shitty has happened. You can talk to me, bartenders are great listeners," she said with a purr as she leaned into him.

_**Now I will stand in the rain on the corner**_

_**I'll watch the people go shuffling downtown**_

_**Another ten minutes no longer**_

_**And then I'm turning around**_

Hyde took another gulp of his beer. "You really wanna know?" He asked the blonde.

"Sure," she said with a sexy smile.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I just caught my girlfriend cheating on me with my best friend," he said.

The bartender moved away from with a scowl on her face. "You think?" She asked.

"Yea, that's what I said," he replied.

"Ok, so you didn't catch them in the act at all, right?" She asked.

"No, not exactly. I caught them about to be in the act," he said. She raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms. "Elaborate, please? She asked.

Hyde drank down the rest of his beer, and slid the glass towards her indicating for her to fill it up again. "And why should I tell you?" He asked.

"Because I'm a woman, and maybe I can help pull your head out of your ass," she said as she filled his glass. "You obviously care a lot for this girl, otherwise you wouldn't be in here drinking your sorrow away," she said.

"No, I'm here because it's a problem that a couple of beers can't fix," he said as he gulped down half of his third beer.

"Well, you've now had two and a half beers, so that's more than a few. So, how did you about to be in the act?" She asked.

Hyde sighed. "You're not going to give up asking until I tell you, are you?" He asked. She shook her head no with a smile. "Fine," he said, and then went into detail about what had happened a few hours earlier in Chicago.

_**The clock on the wall's moving slower**_

_**My heart it sinks to the ground**_

_**And the storm that I thought would blow over**_

_**Clouds the light of the love that I found**_

Hyde was on his fifth beer by the time he finished recounting the situation in Chicago. When he was done, the bartender was standing with her arms crossed in front of her and a scowl on her face.

"Man, if I wouldn't get fired for it, I would hit you upside the head right now!" She exclaimed when she was done.

"Excuse me?" Hyde asked with a slight slur.

"That girl wasn't about to be cheating on you. If she was, she would have been naked in the bed waiting for this idiot to show up. It sounds to me like she was trying to distract him from her room and sent him to go get some ice. Shed was trying to get rid of the moron!" She exclaimed as she handed Hyde his sixth beer of the night.

"You think so?" Hyde asked.

"I think so. And I can tell that you are crazy about this girl. You need to go fix it and make it right with this girl!" She exclaimed. She then walked away to serve another customer.

Hyde sat, stewing in his own thoughts. Could the bartender be right? Was it all a misunderstanding, like the time he saw them on the couch at Donna's house, when she was comforting Kelso about the sex dream Fez had had about him? Or the time she yelled at Annette to get off her boyfriend? He and Jackie were not known for their great communication.

_**Now my body is starting to quiver**_

_**And the palms of my hands getting wet**_

_**I've got no reason to doubt you baby,**_

_**It's all a terrible mess**_

As Hyde sat at the bar, downing his seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth beer, he thought about the last two years with Jackie. Sure they weren't a conventional couple, creepy and unnatural as dubbed by their friends once. They were complete opposites, and on paper they would never work. But they did work. They complimented each other. He brought her back down to earth when she started to get bratty and spoiled, and at the same time she brought out the best in him and made him strive to be a better person.

But they didn't trust each other, and it had been the downfall of their relationship more than once. They also wanted different things. She wanted a marriage and a family. The idea of those things scared Hyde, but also went against everything he ever stood for. Yes, he did love her, but sometimes love just isn't enough.

Last call was called, and Hyde stared at the empty glass of his eleventh beer. He knew what he needed to do. There needed to be closure, whether it was to end the relationship, or to decide to stay with her. She deserved the closure, no matter what it would be. He grabbed his keys that had been sitting next to his glass at the bar and he stood up.

"Hey Hyde, you think you should be driving?" The bartender he had been speaking to earlier asked. "Nah dude, I'm good," he said as best as he could, and walked as fast as he could out of the bar without stumbling. He got into the El Camino and fired her up. He pulled out onto the street and hit the gas pedal.

He wasn't sure exactly where he was going, and then realized he forgot to turn his headlights on. He laughed to himself as he stumbled to find the switch for the lights. "Where the hell is the switch?" he mumbled to himself, and then took his eyes off the road and pressed his foot to the gas harder.

The last thing he remembered was the sound of the metal of his precious car being crunched and glass smashing as he hit a tree.

And then his world went black.

_**I'll run in the rain till I'm breathless**_

_**When I'm breathless I'll run till I drop, hey**_

_**The thoughts of a fool's kind of careless**_

_**I'm just a fool waiting on the wrong block, oh yeah**_

Jackie woke up to someone knocking on the door to her motel room. She sat up and looked at the clock, confused. It was 4:00 AM. Who would be knocking on her door at that time of the night? Unless...

"Steven!" She gasped.

She ran to the door and pulled it open, only to be disappointed at who was standing there. It was the reason for her current state of misery standing at the door. She rolled her eyes.

"Michael, I told you to leave hours ago, to go see Brooke, which is what you were supposed to be doing when you kept asking to sleep with me," Jackie said irritated.

"Jackie," Kelso said with a serious tone. Jackie heard the serious tone in her voice and looked up at his face. It was then that she saw he looked pale and scared.

"Michael? What is it? What's wrong?" She asked frantically.

"It's...it's Hyde. He was in a car accident..."

"No...NO! He's ok, right Michael? Please tell me he's ok!" She shrieked.

"He's in a coma. We need to go back to Point Place. Now." He said.

Jackie just stood in place shaking. She was in shock, she couldn't move. The nest thing she felt was Kelso's arms around her as he picked up her up and carried her to his red sports car, and placed her in the passenger seat so they could drive back to Point Place.

Jackie said in the car staring straight ahead, silent tears running down her face. She decided then and there that as soon as they got to the hospital, she would sit vigil by his bedside and wouldn't leave. He left Chicago thinking she didn't love him, which was as far from the truth as could be. She needed to somehow prove to him that she loved him. Hopefully sitting by his bedside, talking to him while he was in his coma, he would somehow sense her and her love.

They couldn't get back to Point Place quick enough.

_**Light of the love that I found**_


	2. Wrecking Ball

**Stuck In The Middle**

**Chapter 1 - Wrecking Ball**

**Disclaimer – I don't own That 70s Show or Miley Cyrus's Wrecking Ball**

**A/N – If anyone read the prologue before Monday January 27****th****, I did add on a scene to the end I forgot to put in when I published, which is Jackie finding out about the accident, and just wanted to make note in case anyone wants to read the scene!**

Hyde woke up with a start. He then shot up like a dart.

"Where the hell am I?" He muttered. He looked around as his eyes adjusted to the dark. He then recognized where he was. He was in the beer warehouse that Charlie's father owned.

"How the hell did I end up here?" He muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to re-call the night before. Had he driven to the warehouse after the bar closed to keep drinking? He honestly couldn't remember a thing. The last thing he remembered was stumbling out of the bar and getting into the El Camino. He couldn't believe he had blacked out and driven.

He slowly stood up, expecting his head to start pounding as soon as he stood up like it usually did after a night of heavy drinking. He was surprised once he was on his feet and found his head didn't hurt at all. Confused, he walked to the door to go outside.

He stepped outside and squinted, expecting the sun to hurt his most likely blood shot eyes. Surprisingly, once again, the sun didn't bother his eyes. He looked around for his El Camino, but didn't see his car anywhere. Now, not only was he confused, he was pissed off.

"If Kelso and Fez are pulling a prank on me, I swear to God…" He started to mutter to himself.

"No one is playing a prank on you," said a voice. Hyde spun around quickly to see who was talking to him. No one else was around, except for a guy in about his mid-thirties who stood a few feet away. He looked around again, and realized how eerily quiet it was.

"Who the hell are you?" Hyde asked.

"My name is David. David Brown," he said as he walked towards Hyde, hand out stretched expecting a hand shake. Hyde just looked at him warily.

"Yea, ok," Hyde said as he turned to walk away.

"You're not going to get very far." He heard David say.

Hyde stopped and turned around. "What's that supposed to mean?" Hyde asked.

"You don't remember anything after getting into your car last night do you?" He asked. Hyde slowly shook his head no. "You drove your car straight into a tree. Knocked ya right out. You're currently in the hospital in a coma," he explained to Hyde.

Hyde started to laugh. "Ok, and I should believe this…why?" He asked. Before he knew it, David snapped his fingers and he was standing in a hospital room with David. He looked over to the bed, and indeed saw himself lying in the bed, hooked up to beeping machines. "What the f…" he trailed off.

David snapped his fingers and they were back in front of the beer warehouse. "How the hell are you doing that?" Hyde asked.

"Well, I'm dead." David said matter of factly.

"Wait, so does that mean…am I dead?" Hyde exclaimed.

"Nope. You're just in a coma. You're currently stuck in the middle between life and death. You're gonna survive though. But they don't know that," David explained.

"Who's they?" Hyde asked.

"Your friends and family. Red and Kitty Forman are at the hospital, as well as Donna Pinciotti, and that strange foreign kid Fez is there," David explained as Hyde smirked. "Oh, and Michael Kelso and Jackie Burkhart showed up to too," David said.

Hyde snorted. "Together?" He asked.

"Yes, together. But only because Kelso picked Jackie up in Chicago to bring her back here. He was at Brooke's playing with Betsy when Mrs. Forman called him. He went straight to Jackie's motel room after that to get her and bring her back here so she could be with you. She's devastated, hasn't left your bedside since she showed up," David said.

Hyde snorted again. "Yea I bet. I'm sure she's real devastated. And I'm sure Kelso was with Brook and Betsy. I'm sure the two of them were shacked up in her motel room, Kelso 'comforting' her," Hyde said. "Well listen it was great talking to you and all, but I need to go wake up from a coma so I can kick Kelso's ass and tell Jackie off," Hyde said.

"Yea, it doesn't work that way," David said. "Jackie is the reason I'm here."

Hyde stopped and turned around again. "What?" He asked. "Why is Jackie the reason you're here?"

"You need some guidance, especially when it comes to Jackie. So I was sent to guide you," he explained. "I've got some stuff to show you in regards to your future, a future where you and Jackie aren't together."

"A future where Jackie and I aren't together? Sounds like a good future to me. I'll take it," Hyde said.

"I'm not so sure you want that," he heard David say to his turned back. Hyde sighed. It seemed as though there was no getting out of this, so he may as well play along. "So why were you sent to guide me? I don't even know you," Hyde said.

"I was a drug addict," David started. Hyde raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "I was in your position not too long ago after an over dose. I was in a coma, stuck in the middle as well. I was given a guide who showed me what my life could be like if I cleaned up my life from drugs. I promised I would get myself clean if I was given a second chance, which I was given. However, I was a drug addict. It's not that cut and dry. I went back to the drugs, and died not too long after my second chance. I guess it was the higher power's way of telling me not to mess with them," David explained. "Plus, I need my wings. You're going to help me earn them," he said with a smile and a wink.

"Yea, well I don't believe in a higher power, so I don't see this working," Hyde said.

"Just, come with me!" David said, and snapped his fingers again.

_**We clawed, we chained our hearts in vain**_

_**We jumped never asking why**_

_**We kissed, I fell under your spell**_

_**A love no one could deny**_

Hyde found himself standing in the Forman's living room, back towards the stairs. Red was sitting in his pea soup colored arm chair, and Kitty was sitting on the couch along with Jackie. And Jackie was sobbing.

"Ok, so what are we doing here?" Hyde asked David.

"I have taken you a few weeks into the future. This is where we start. Just watch," David said as he pointed to the scene in front of them.

"I just don't understand Mrs. Forman!" Jackie wailed.

Mrs. Forman looked clearly annoyed by the sobbing brunette. Jackie fell into Mrs. Forman's lap, and Mrs. Forman started to pat her back, rather forcefully, and laughed her signature laugh.

"Okay then, how about we just stop crying, what's the use in crying over something we can't change!" Mrs. Forman exclaimed.

Jackie sat up and sniffled, and the tears seemed to stop for a moment. But even from where he was standing, he knew Jackie too well and knew it wouldn't last. The tears would start flowing again any minute.

"But Mrs. Forman, I just don't understand why he left right after he got out of the hospital! He didn't even give me the chance to explain, just like in Chicago," she sniffed as she crossed her arms. "And now he's been gone two weeks! I left my dream job in Chicago to sit by his bedside and nurse him back to health. And then he just leaves? Selfish prick." Jackie said bitchily.

Hyde smirked from his spot with David. "Typical Jackie," he told David. David smiled and just pointed to the scene in front of him

_**Don't you ever say I just walked away**_

_**I will always want you **_

_**I can't live a lie, running for my life**_

_**I will always want you**_

Jackie stood up quickly. "Well since you two aren't doing anything to make me feel better, I'm going to go see Donna," Jackie said. She then walked right by where Hyde and David were standing as she went to walk out the door. Hyde reached out for her, and David slapped her arm down.

"You can't do that. Besides, she can't see you or hear you, so it's pointless," David explained. He then pointed back to where Red and Kitty sat.

"That girl doesn't shut up!" Red exclaimed.

"Oh Red, she's just upset about Steven being gone," Kitty said.

Red looked over at his wife and grinned. "You were getting annoyed by her too, so don't you lecture me," Red said.

Kitty laughed nervously. "I just didn't want her crying her big fat alligator tears all over me is all!" Kitty explained to her husband. "Now, let's see. What else can I tell Eric in my recording for this week?" Kitty asked Red. Red just rolled his eyes.

The door then slowly opened, and both adults looked towards the door. Hyde watched himself walk through the door. It was a surreal feeling watching himself, considering he was standing with David a few feet away. "This is so weird," he mentioned to David. "Yea, it always is the first time. You'll get used to it," David explained. They then turned their attention back to the scene in the living room.

_**I came in like a wrecking ball**_

_**I never hit so hard in love**_

_**All I wanted was to break your walls**_

_**All you ever did was wreck me**_

_**Yeah, you, you wreck me**_

"Steven's home!" Kitty exclaimed as she ran towards him to give him a hug. She laughed her signature laugh as she patted him on the back. Hyde watched himself hug the small woman back.

"Yea, I've been back for about a day," he said to Kitty. "I just couldn't bring myself to see Jackie yet, so I stayed at the store last night."

Kitty eyed him nervously. "Are you ready to see Jackie now?" She asked.

"Yea, because she has been hanging around this house nonstop since you left. I even think she's been staying here," Red said.

"Yea, I think I'm ready to see her now. Is she here?" Hyde asked.

"She just went next door to see Donna. Apparently we weren't giving her enough comfort and compassion so she's trying Donna," Kitty said.

"Ok, well I'm going to grab a beer. Want one Red?" Hyde asked and Red nodded his head yes.

Hyde watched himself walk through the swinging door into the kitchen, and in the next instant Jackie walked back into the house from the front door.

"Well Donna is no good in getting comfort from. She's all 'Eric is gone, I'm so sad!' and 'Jackie, feel bad for me, Eric is gone.' No Donna, you need to feel bad for me, M-E!" Jackie exclaimed as flopped back down on the Forman's couch crossing her arms.

"Yay, Jackie's back!" Kitty said with forced enthusiasm. Jackie patted her arm lightly. "I know, you missed me, didn't you Mrs. Forman?" Jackie said with a smile.

The swinging door then opened, and Hyde watched himself walk back into the room.

"Steven!" Jackie gasped

_**I put you high up in the sky**_

_**And now, you're not coming down**_

_**It slowly turned, you let me burn**_

_**And now, we're ashes on the ground**_

"Steven, you're back!" Jackie exclaimed as she ran to him. Hyde passed off Red's beer to him before Jackie threw herself into Hyde's arms.

"Yup, I'm back," he said as he hung his arms loosely around Jackie's back.

"Steven we really need to talk about us. And what happened in Chicago. It isn't what you thought, at all. I was just trying to get rid of Michael…"

"Jackie, just stop. We don't need to re-hash that shit from the past. I just spent the last few weeks in Las Vegas, clearing my head. And I realized, I don't care," Hyde said.

"Ok, I think I can work with that," Jackie said as she held his hands in hers.

"But, I also realized that I'm not ready to get married yet," Hyde explained to Jackie.

"Yet? Ok, I think I can work with that too. So that means that you will want to in the future," Jackie said with a smile on her face.

"Nope, I still can't guarantee that I will someday either," Hyde said to her.

_**Don't you ever say I just walked away**_

_**I will always want you**_

_**I can't live a lie, running for my life**_

_**I will always want you**_

Over by the stairs with David, stuck in the middle Hyde snickered. "Sounds like something I would say," he told David. David turned to him. "You need to stop interrupting with your own commentary and just watch!" David scolded him. Hyde just smirked and turned back to the scene in front of him.

"Steven, why do you need to be so difficult?" Jackie asked, and then kicked him in the shin. "Ow!" Hyde exclaimed, as Jackie sat back down on the sofa with her arms crossed.

The next sound heard was the doorbell, and they all looked among themselves, confused. No one they knew used the door bell, everyone just walked in on their own. Kitty walked towards the door confused, and opened the door. Standing on the other side was a tall, busty blonde.

"Can I help you?" Kitty asked the girl standing on her front door step.

"Hi, I'm looking for…Hyde!" She exclaimed once she saw him standing behind Red's chair and rushed to him.

_**I came in like a wrecking ball**_

_**I never hit so hard in love**_

_**All I wanted was to break your walls**_

_**All you ever did was wreck me**_

"Steven, who is this?" Jackie demanded as she stood up from the couch.

"Uhhh, this is…Sam. She's a stripper I metr while I was in Vegas. Pretty cool chick," he explained with a smirk.

"Yes, we spent his whole time together in Vegas. We learned a lot about each other," she said as she turned a glaring eye at Jackie, who in turn glared right back at her.

"Yea, but I said my goodbye to you in Vegas. What are you doing here?" He asked the blonde.

"You don't remember? We got married!" Sam exclaimed.

"Oh my God!" Jackie yelled, and immediately ran from the room through the kitchen doors.

_**I came in like a wrecking ball**_

_**Yeah, I just closed my eyes and swung**_

_**Left me crashing in a blazing fall **_

_**All you ever did was wreck me**_

_**Yeah, you, you wreck me**_

"Married?" Kitty exclaimed once Jackie had run from the room. "Steven, what on earth were you thinking? You knew Jackie was waiting for you here at home!"

"Uhhh, I wasn't thinking?" Hyde tried. He then turned to Sam. "When did this happen?"

She turned a dazzling smile towards him. "Your last night in Vegas. I mean, we totally got trashed before we did it, so I'm not surprised that you don't remember," she explained.

"Man, I must have completely messed up if I went and got married," Hyde said as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Steven?" Red asked. Hyde watched himself look over to his surrogate father. Hyde always hated disappointing Red. "I think me, you, and Kitty need to go discuss this with you. Alone. In the kitchen," he said sternly as he stood. Hyde and Kitty followed. Sam took the opportunity to sit on the couch.

David pushed Hyde to also walk through the doors so they could watch what was about to unfold in the kitchen. Hyde was definitely stunned by the events of his future that were unfolding before him. He turned to look at David, but he just shook his head, as if to tell him to just watch.

Once the three entered the kitchen, follow by the two stuck in the middle, they saw Jackie sitting on the chairs outside the sliding glass doors. She saw the three walk into the kitchen, and joined them when it looked like Sam wouldn't follow.

_**I never meant to start a war**_

_**I just wanted you to let me in**_

_**And instead of using force**_

_**I guess I should have let you win**_

_**I never meant to start a war**_

_**I just wanted you to let me in**_

_**I guess I should've let you win**_

"Steve," Red started. "Do you want her to stay?" Was the simple question asked by his surrogate father. Hyde watched himself look around to Red, then Kitty, and lastly Jackie. Even from where he was standing with David, he could see the pain in her eyes. But, he had no idea if future Hyde would even care.

"Well, I made a mistake. But, there are always consequences to mistakes," Hyde started.

"This is true." Red simply stated. "It is easy enough to get this annulled though. This doesn't have to last," Red said firmly.

The room was quiet as he thought Red's words over. "No, I think she needs to stay," he finally said.

The gasps in the room came from Kitty and Jackie.

"Are you sure this is what you want Steven?" Red asked.

"I made a choice. And as a man, I need to accept that choice. She stays," Hyde said.

_**Don't you ever say I just walked away**_

_**I will always want you**_

_**I came in like a wrecking ball**_

_**I never hit so hard in love**_

_**All I wanted as to break your walls**_

_**All you ever did was wreck me**_

Jackie then stood up so forcefully, her chair fell over. "Steven Hyde, if you do this, I will never forgive you. There will never be a future for you and I. Ever." Jackie said firmly. Hyde just shrugged his shoulders at her.

"Fine. Then I guess this ship has sailed!" Jackie exclaimed. She then ran out the sliding door and down the driveway.

Hyde looked over at David on his left. "I would never do that! I would never go off and marry some stranger, let alone a stripper! I hate the idea of marriage" He yelled to David. David just raised an eyebrow at him. "Maybe the Hyde in love with Jackie wouldn't have done that. But this is a broken Hyde who decided his relationship with Jackie was over and not worth the effort, and wanted to spite her. And this is only the beginning. I have so much more to show you!" David said excitedly.

Hyde just groaned next to him.

_**I came in like a wrecking ball**_

_**Yeah, I just closed my eyes and swung**_

_**Left me crashing in a blazing fall**_

_**All you ever did was wreck me**_

_**Yeah, you, you wreck me**_

_**Yeah, you, you wreck me**_


	3. Say Something

**Struck In The Middle**

**Chapter 2 – Say Something**

**Disclaimer – I don't own That 70s Show or a Great Big World & Christina Aguilera's song "Say Something"**

Hyde stormed out of the Forman's kitchen and into the driveway, the same direction Jackie had just stormed out of after his future self said his stripper wife could stay. He was fucking pissed. David followed right behind him.

"You can't go after her, Hyde," he reminded him.

Hyde stopped in his tracks and squeezed his eyes shut. He ran his hands down his face and groaned.

"What the hell man? This isn't me! I would never have done this! I never would have married a stranger, then choose her to stay over Jackie! This can't be true, none of this would ever happen! How can I believe what you're showing me is true?" He screamed in David's face.

David stood and let him yell and get his anger out. He had been informed that this was typical behavior, he had done it himself when he had been stuck in the middle. It was a difficult concept to grasp and understand, and he knew that.

"You just have to trust me Hyde. Come on, let's move onto the next thing," Davis said as he turned to walk away.

"I'm not going. I don't need to see anything involving me and that stripper. I just can't," Hyde said.

David sighed. "Hyde, if you want to survive, you have to come with me," David explained.

Hyde stood where he was glaring at David for a good minute before he moved. "Fine!" he yelled. "But only because I really don't feel like dying yet," he said.

David smiled. "Ok, let's go. Back into the Forman's house. Back into the living room," he instructed to Hyde. Hyde followed slowly. They walked back over to the spot they had stood in the last time they were in this room, over by the stairs.

"So, I've jumped ahead to a year later," David explained. "It is now late August of 1980."

_**Say Something, I'm giving up on you**_

_**I'll be the one, if you want me to**_

Hyde watched as David snapped his fingers and the room changed right in front of his eyes. He saw himself standing at the windows by the piano, hanging a sign. He was able to read the sign when he stood back from hanging it. The sign read "Welcome Home Eric!" He felt himself smirk, just as his future self was smirking. He knew his future self missed Eric just as much as his current self did.

Hyde looked over when the door to the kitchen swung open and Jackie walked in carrying a plate of cookies. She placed them down on the coffee table, and picked one up and walked over to where future Hyde was standing. She handed him the cookie, and he took it from her and bit into it.

"Well, this looks good," Hyde said to David. "Jackie doesn't look repulsed by me, and I don't see the stripper anywhere. I'm taking this all as a good sign," Hyde told David with a smirk. David just pointed.

"How does it look?" He asked her.

She smiled up at him. "It looks great. I can't wait for Eric to be home," she said wistfully.

"Hold up, time out on the field!" Hyde exclaimed.

David looked over at him with a look of annoyance on his face. "What now?" He asked.

"I know that look Jackie is giving me. That's the look like I'm her knight in shining armor. So after everything I did, allowing the stripper to stay, she's still in love with me a year later," Hyde said. David just stared at him. "Will you just shut up and watch?" He asked with annoyance. "Fine," Hyde mumbled, but he knew he was right.

_**Anywhere I would've followed you**_

_**Say Something, I'm giving up on you**_

Hyde turned his attention back to the scene in front of him.

"Yea, me too. It's been a weird year without him," Hyde said. Jackie nodded hear head in agreement. "That's for sure," Jackie said.

The door to the kitchen opened again, and Kelso walked through, holding a popsicle, followed by Fez chewing on some Twizzlers.

"Woohoo, Eric comes home today!" Kelso exclaimed.

"Yes, it's very ex…oooh cookies!" Fez exclaimed, distracted from what he had been saying.

Brooke walked in after Fez. Jackie walked over to hug her, and rubbed her belly.

"How are you feeling Brooke?" She asked her.

"Now that I'm out of the first trimester, I'm not as sick, so I'm definitely feeling better," she told Jackie.

"Man, I can't believe you knocked Brooke up again," Hyde said, smirking.

"What can I say, Brooke couldn't stay away from the Kelso loving!" Kelso said as he sat down on the couch. "Man, Eric is in for a big surprise when he gets back. I mean, so much has changed in the last year," Kelso said.

"Yes, maybe things will finally go back to normal around here," Fez said.

"Well sure it will," Kelso said. "Eric and Donna are back together. Fez, you're still pervy, but that's just who you are. I'm still sexy as hell, and Jackie and Hyde…well who knows what your deal is," Kelso said.

"Our deal is that we're actually friends for once, dumbass," Hyde said as he leaned down to frog Kelso in the arm. "Owww! Damn Hyde!"

From where Hyde stood with David, he could see the sadness in Jackie's eyes when he said they were just friends. He knew Jackie's eyes always gave away her emotions, and he couldn't figure out for the life of him why his future self wasn't able to see that anymore.

_**And I am feeling so small**_

_**It was over my head**_

_**I know nothing at all**_

"Yea Michael, we have finally learned to be friends. There is no way I could ever be with him again after what he pulled with his marriage to Sam," Jackie spat.

Kelso smiled before he spoke. "Oh yea! The stripper wife. Man, that was the biggest burn, in the history of burns, anyone has ever done to another human being. I mean, to stay married to Sam just to burn Jackie? Even I wasn't that cruel, and I cheated on Jackie hundreds of time!" Kelso exclaimed.

Jackie rolled her eyes and walked away from Kelso. Her eyes gave away to the hurt that she still felt over Hyde choosing a stranger over her. He watched as his future self frogged Kelso again.

"I wasn't burning Jackie by staying with Sam. I was trying to do right by my actions. Besides, it was a sham, we were never really married," Hyde said.

From where he stood Hyde turned to look at David, furious at the information he just learned. David just pointed , telling him not to speak.

_**And I will stumble and fall**_

_**I'm still learning to love**_

_**Just starting to crawl**_

"That makes it even worse!" Kelso exclaimed.

"Ok, so I thought I was married when I chose to do right by my actions. It wasn't until her first husband showed up two months later that I learned we were never married. How was I supposed to know that?" Hyde said.

"Maybe if you two had talked once in a while instead of having sex all the time, and sucking face in front of me, and shoving your whole relationship in my face, that bit of information would have come up," Jackie said with venom in her voice. It was very apparent she hadn't fully forgiven Hyde even a year later. "And that's why Steven and I will never be more than friends," Jackie ended.

Hyde watched himself slowly turn to Jackie, with a smirk on his face. He held his breather, waiting to hear what new piece of information he was going to learn now.

"Well Jackie, how about the reason why I think we can never be more than friends again?" He asked her. Jackie just rolled her eyes.

"Please Steven, that is barely a reason and you know it. What you did to me is a million times worse," she said.

"I don't know, I mean, dating Fez? Why would I want to touch you again after that?" Hyde asked.

"Hey!" Fez exclaimed from the couch. "Not only are you burning Jackie there, but you are burning me too, you sonofabitch!" He exclaimed.

Hyde turned to David, and even though he knew David didn't want him to talk, he couldn't help himself this time. "Fez? She dated Fez? She would never do that! She knows how perverted he is, and she hates foreigners!" He exclaimed. David just shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say Hyde? It's all a part of the domino effect that will occur if you choose not to stay with Jackie for your future. Just watch," he said with a smile. Hyde turned around and grumbled, "You're enjoying this way too much."

_**Say something, I'm giving up on you**_

_**I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you**_

__Jackie scoffed at what Hyde said. Fez was supposed to be his friend too, and he was being so cruel to him.

"Well what did you expect of me? Is it a surprise that I wanted to be with Fez? You had left me for a stripper, Eric had left for Africa, Michael left for Chicago, and Donna was being a back stabbing best friend, acting like Sam was her new best friend. Fez was my only ally during those horrific months. It's only natural that I was drawn to the person who was protecting me, I did the same with you," Jackie explained. "Besides, can you really even count four weeks as a relationship?" Jackie asked.

Fez shrugged from where he sat and added, "Plus she never let me past first base. It can't be considered a real relationship unless you do it." Fez reasoned. Hyde felt himself relax a bit when Fez confirmed they never slept together, and that they weren't together at that moment in the future.

"Ok, enough with the arguing," Kelso said. "We have beaten these topics to death before. Let's keep it all in the past where it belongs. Because Eric is coming home!" He exclaimed. Everyone looked at the loveable idiot, surprised at his maturity in that moment.

Hyde watched himself walk back towards the piano to sit, and watched Jackie watch himself. The love she felt was still in her eyes. Despite what she said, she was still very much in love with him after everything. It was really bothering him that his future self didn't see it.

_**Anywhere I would have followed you**_

_**Say something, I'm giving up on you.**_

A few seconds later the front door opened. Mr. Forman then walked in, followed closely by his blubbering wife, and then Eric and Donna arm in arm, smiling from ear to ear as they stared at each other.

From where Hyde stood with David, we wished he could reach out and hug his best friend. In all reality Eric hadn't been gone that long, but he missed him like crazy.

"Welcome home!" Everyone exclaimed as they rushed to hug Eric. Jackie was the slowest, lagging behind. He knew her and Eric had never been that close, and she wanted everyone else to get the opportunity to greet their friend who had been gone for the last year of their lives.

"Oh thank goodness you're home," Fez blubbered as he held Eric ion a tight hug. "This place was just awful without you! You make everything ok around here!" Fez exclaimed. Eric patted Fez's back as he held onto him crying. "Ok Fez, that's enough," Eric said as he wrestled his arms off him.

Hyde then watched himself pull his best friend into a hug and slap his back a few times. "Welcome home man. You have sure been missed."

Eric then walked over to Jackie, and they eyed one another, before they both broke into a smile and hugged "Devil," he said. "Dweeb," she said back. "I can honestly say, I missed you," Eric said. Jackie gave him her dazzling smile. "Me too," she said with tears in her eyes.

She swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand quickly, not wanting to cry in front of him. "Also, thank you for working things out with Donna after the New Year. She was such a big red whore while you two were broken up. I didn't think her and I would ever be friends again for a while," Jackie said to Eric.

Eric frowned at the news Jackie had given him. "It's been a rough year for you, hasn't it?" He asked. Jackie nodded sadly. "But, it's ok! Brooke and I became close because of it all. And I learned that Fez and I don't work as a couple," Jackie said as they botch chuckled. "And, I got my act together and applied to colleges. I'm pretty excited to be starting at Northwestern University next week. Being in Chicago will be a nice change," Jackie said with excitement in her eyes.

Hyde looked sadly at the scene in front of him. He knew Jackie had excellent potential, and knew she would do great things if she went to college. It was one of the reasons he didn't want to get married when she did. He didn't want to hold her back. But hearing she would be leaving for school in Chicago was hard to hear. He always assumed she would follow Eric and Donna at the University of Wisconsin.

_**And I will swallow my pride**_

_**You're the one that I love**_

_**And I'm saying goodbye**_

"Well, congrats devil. Northwestern University isn't easy to get into. I'm happy for you. I would have been happier if you and Hyde could have worked things out, but I understand a lot has happened between the two of you," he said.

Hyde noticed Jackie look down sadly, and Eric also caught it as well.

"Uh-oh, did I hit a nerve?" He asked. Jackie looked back up with tears in her eyes.

"I just wish things could have been different for us, you know? That we could have worked on it and made it, like you and Donna," she said.

"You still love him," Eric stated.

Jackie just nodded her head. "Trust me, I wish I didn't," she said.

"Would you stay if he asked you to?" Eric asked curiously.

Jackie sighed. "I like to say that I would have the strength to leave if he asked me to stay. But, I know I would stay. But, it doesn't matter. He doesn't have those feelings for me anymore, and would never ask me to stay. But anyways, enough about me, go catch up with everyone else," Jackie said as she hugged Eric. "It's good to see you and have you back." She then walked into the kitchen.

_**Say something, I'm giving up on you**_

_**And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you**_

Hyde could feel his sadness as he stood by the stairs with David, watching Jackie walk out of the room. The way she felt was written all over herself, yet his future self just wasn't seeing it. It was making him furious.

"Why on earth can't I see how she's feeling?" He asked David angrily. "I have always been able to read Jackie," he explained.

David shrugged. "In this future that we're watching, you don't think you love Jackie anymore, and your feelings for her don't go beyond friendship. As a result, you aren't paying as much attention to her and her feelings," he explained to Hyde.

Hyde didn't like the answer, but it seemed to make sense. He turned back to what was going on in the Forman living room.

_**And anywhere I would've followed you (oh-oh-oh-oh)**_

_**Say something I'm giving up on you**_

"Hey man," Hyde said as Eric walked over to him.

"What's going on Hyde, how's life? How has the last year been for you?" He asked him.

Hyde shrugged. "Can't complain. Turns out I was never married, which is great since I never wanted to be. The store is doing great, got more money than I ever hoped I would. Kelso knocked Brooke up again which is hilarious, and better him than me. Fez is still pervy and fun to hang out with, even if he did make out with Jackie for about four weeks. Jackie and I hated each other for a bit, but we've worked past that and are actually friends now," Hyde said

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Just friends?" He asked. "Are you and Jackie even capable of being just friends?" Eric asked him.

"Sure man," Hyde said. "There's no romantic feelings left after the fact that I left her for a tripper and then she dated Fez. We finally realized that we're just not good together, or for each other. Actually being friends is nice though. Hey, get the others together, we need an old fashioned circle," he instructed Eric. He then got up to walk down to the basement and get the circle ready.

David pointed, which Hyde took as a sign to follow himself. They walked through the kitchen and down the stairs to the basement. That's where they found Jackie sitting on the couch staring at the TV.

"Hey Jackie, what are you doing down here alone?" He asked her.

Jackie stood when she saw Hyde walk towards her. "Oh, umm I was getting ready to go home and pack. I still need to get all my stuff together before I head to Chicago next week," she explained. "I just needed a moment to myself alone in the basement. Ya know, take it all in," she said.

Hyde just shook his head, as if agreeing with her. "Well, stay for a minute. We won't be alone together too long, I told Eric to get everyone else together for a circle," he said.

"Why would being alone together be an issue?" She asked him.

"Well, we haven't been alone together much since we started to actually be friends, and I know it makes you uncomfortable," he said as he sat in his chair. Jackie sat on the couch.

"Yea, it is a bit hard for me. Steven, do you really think you and I will never have another chance together?" She asked him as she turned to him.

Hyde looked up at her with his shaded eyes. "Why are you asking me that?" He asked her.

Jackie shrugged. "I'm just curious. I feel like I need to know before I leave for college. Ya know, for closure," she said as she turned to face him, and put her hand on his knee.

Hyde looked at Jackie strangely. "Jackie, we're done," he said. "It's been a year. I don't see you that way anymore, and you don't see me that way anymore. We're just friends. You can go off to school next week free, free to find a future husband," Hyde said with complete sincerity.

Jackie smiled sadly at Hyde's words. "Thank you," she said as she stood. She leaned down and placed a feather light kiss on the corner of his mouth. She was out the door before he could say another word to her.

_**Say something, I'm giving up on you**_

_**Say something….**_

Hyde sat on the deep freeze along with David, watching the scene unfold. He could see the hope and love in Jackie's eyes form where he sat. However, it didn't seem like his future self could see the pleading in her eyes. The pleading to ask her to stay. He could also see in that moment when Jackie kissed him and walked away, that the wheel s started to turn in his future self's head that she wasn't just a friend.

"For the second time in a year, Chicago is pulling her away, and for the second time in a year she wants me to ask her to stay," Hyde said to David. "Except this time she isn't coming right out and saying it. A year ago I would have seen it in her eyes," Hyde said,

"Yes. Doesn't mean you would have vocalized for her to stay if you had seen it though, considering you didn't ask her to stay the first time," David said.

Hyde groaned. "This sucks, you know that?" He said to David.

"Yea, this stuff isn't always easy to see. Ok, onto the next shall we?" David asked with a big smile on his face. He snapped his fingers, and they were onto the next important moment in Hyde's future.


	4. Let Her Go

**Stuck In The Middle**

**Chapter 3 – Let Her Go**

**Disclaimer – I don't own That 70s Show or Passenger's "Let Her Go"**

Before Hyde knew what was going on, David had snapped his fingers, and they were standing in an unfamiliar location to him, and in front of an unfamiliar building.

"Ok. So where are we now?" Hyde asked David.

"I have brought you ahead another year. It is now the beginning of September 1981. We are on the Northwestern University campus. We are currently standing in front of Jackie's sorority house," David explained.

Hyde scoffed. "Of course Jackie would be in a sorority," he said. David just smiled. "Ok, move along, inside and up the stairs, bang a right at the top, first room on the left," he said

Hyde did as David said, and found himself standing outside Jackie's room, just as she set a bunch of bags down on a chair in the corner of the room. He moved into the room and stood by the chair she had just put the bags on.

_**Well you only need the light when it's burning low**_

_**Only miss the sun when it starts to snow**_

_**Only know you love her when you let her go**_

Jackie sighed as she looked around her room. Her eyes stopped on the boxes sitting on her bed and she walked over. Hyde watched her as she started unpacking one. She took out a picture frame and smiled, and Hyde craned his neck to see what it was. It was a picture of the gang from the night they went to the disco, which seemed like ages ago at that moment. She set the picture down on her desk, and then pulled out another. It was a picture of the gang on their graduation day, right before Red had his heart attack. She set that one down as well, and grabbed on more. Her smile faded as she looked at this one, and tears formed in her eyes.

It was a picture of her and himself. It was from the first Thanksgiving they were together. They were sitting on the Forman's stairs, Jackie on the stair below him. His arms were around her, and she was staring up at him with her brilliant smile. He was smirking down at her. It was one of his favorite pictures of them. Neither of them knew it had been taken, and you could see the love between them.

_**Only know you've been high when you're feeling low**_

_**Only hate the road when you're missin' home**_

_**Only know you love her when you let her go**_

_**And you let her go**_

Hyde was so engrossed in staring at the picture in Jackie's hands, he didn't see someone else enter the room.

"Hey Jackie," the blonde girl said as she walked over to give Jackie a hug. "Welcome back," she said.

"Hi Jenny," Jackie said with a smile.

"Staring at the picture of the hottie again?" Jenny said with a smirk.

Jackie sighed. "I'm debating if I should just chuck this one or not," she said to Jenny.

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "What happened over summer break? You left here when the semester was over insistent on working on things with the hottie," Jenny said.

Hyde turned to look at David, who just smiled at him and shook his head no and pointed, letting him know to keep watching.

_**Staring at the bottom of your glass**_

_**Hoping one day you'll make a dream last**_

_**But dreams come slow and they go so fast**_

Jackie groaned. "I chickened out Jenny. I just couldn't face him. I thought I could, but then I kept thinking back to our last encounter before I came here, and he made it pretty clear we were just friends and would never be more," Jackie said.

Jenny laughed. "You spent your whole freshman year talking about this guy, I feel like I know him personally! You're clearly in love with him."

Jackie smiled sadly. "I am. But you can't make someone love you back. Anyways, I ended up spending the summer in Mexico with my mom. And…I kind of met someone," Jackie said.

Hyde groaned from where he stood and looked over at David, who just shrugged.

Jenny squealed with delight and jumped up and down. "Oh my gosh, tell me all about him!"

"Well, he's actually an old someone. I know him from high school. He was a year ahead of me," Jackie explained.

Hyde closed his eyes were he stood and muttered to himself "Please don't be Kelso, please don't be Kelso, please don't be Kelso…"

_**You see her when you close your eyes**_

_**Maybe one day you'll understand why**_

_**Everything you touch surely dies**_

"What's his name? Don't leave me hanging here!" Jenny said.

"Well, he actually goes to school here. He's picking me up later for a date, so you can actually meet him in person," Jackie explained.

Jenny squealed again. "I can't wait! Oh my gosh, we need to get you ready for the date then! Let's get you unpacked! "

Hyde felt himself blow out the air he had been holding in his lungs. At least it wasn't Kelso that she was seeing.

"Ok, let's go check out what you are up to at this exact same moment," he heard David say next to him. He snapped his fingers, and they were back in the Forman's basement. Hyde groaned.

"Two years later and I'm still living in the Forman's basement?" He said.

David just smiled and pointed towards his room in the back. "Let's go," he said.

They walked into the small room, and Hyde watched himself angrily packing stuff into a green sea bag. He watched as he stormed around the room, throwing more and more stuff into the bag.

_**But you only need the light when it's burning low**_

_**Only miss the sun when it starts to snow**_

_**Only know you lover her when you let her go**_

_**Only know you've been high when you're feeling low**_

_**Only hate the road when you're missing home**_

_**Only know you love her when you let her go**_

"Hyde?" He heard Eric calling faintly, followed by his footsteps on the stairs. He appeared in his room a few moments later. "Hey man, Donna and I are about to head out on the road back to Madison and wanted to say bye," he said, his voice slowly trailing off. "What are you doing man?" He asked.

"Packing," He grunted.

"I can see that. But, why?" Eric asked.

"Going on a trip," he said curtly.

"Ok Hyde, it's me. What's going on?" Eric tried again.

Hyde stopped what he was doing and looked at Eric. He then sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"I'm going to Chicago," he said, and then started packing again.

"Umm, and why would you be going to Chicago?" Eric asked him.

"Why do you think?" Hyde practically growled.

Eric sighed as he watched Hyde pack. "May I remind you what happened that last time you went to Chicago for Jackie?" Eric finally said.

Hyde stopped again and turned to look at Eric. "Yes. But this time Kelso won't be there in a towel to ruin everything. He's too busy with his two kids and Brooke," he said.

"Hyde man, it's been two years. Don't you think it's time to let her go?" Eric asked.

_**Staring at the ceiling in the dark**_

_**Same old empty feeling in your heart**_

'_**Cause love comes slow and it goes so fast**_

__Hyde crossed his arms and stared hard at his best friend in front of him.

"I tried to forget her man. I let her go off to school, after she was practically begging me to ask her to stay again. But she's like this infectious disease you just can't get rid of, man! Once she bites you, you're infected for life! I was planning on spending this summer getting back on her good side, trying to get another shot with her. And then she never freakin came home, man!"

"Hyde, I get it, that sucks, but maybe it's a sign that the two of you shouldn't be together,  
Eric said.

Hyde just stared at Eric, and then shook his head. "I'm going to Chicago. I screwed up two years ago and then again last year. I'm done screwing up my chances with Jackie. It's time to get it right," he said. He then pushed past Eric with his bag and out his room.

"Well I guess I finally got my head out of my ass," Hyde said to David.

"Maybe so, but it might be too late for you though," David said. "Let's go, we are following yourself to Chicago," David said and snapped his fingers again.

_**Well you see her when you fall asleep**_

_**But never to touch and never to keep**_

'_**Cause you loved her too much**_

_**And you dived too deep**_

After David snapped his fingers, he found themselves back outside Jackie's sorority house. They stood on the sidewalk in front of the house, and he saw his El Camino pull up a few minutes later. He watched himself get out of the car and walk up to the door. Hyde and David followed himself up the path. He then watched himself ring the doorbell. Jenny answered the door.

"Hey there sexy," she purred as she opened the door for him to walk in.

"Yea, hi. Is Jackie here?" He asked her.

"Wow, you're even hotter in person," Jenny said.

"Thanks. But I need to see Jackie," he said,

"She's busy. Getting ready for a date," Jenny told him.

Hyde swallowed hard. "A date?" He asked,

"Yup. Some guy she met while she was in Mexico with her mom this summer," Jenny explained. "Apparently this guy went to high school with you guys," she said,

Hyde groaned. "Not Kelso!" He said.

Jenny's faced scrunched up. "No, that's not the name she told me," Jenny said.

"Michael?" Hyde asked her.

"Nope," Jenny said and then smiled. "But you know, I'm single," she said as she batted her eyes at him.

"Yea, not interested. I don't like blondes," Hyde said.

Jenny gasped at what he said, and then turned an icy stare at him. "Well, you can go now. Jackie wouldn't want to see you anyway," Jenny said icily.

"Fine," Hyde said as he turned and stalked out of the house.

Hyde turned and looked at David. "Really? I'm giving up that easily? I feel like I wouldn't give up that easily," he said.

David rolled his eyes at Hyde. "You really don't know how to shut up and watch do you?"

Hyde just grunted and turned back to watch himself walk out of the sorority house.

_**Well you only need the light when it's burning low**_

_**Only miss the sun when it starts to snow**_

_**Only know you love her when you let her go**_

_**Only know you've been high when you're feeling low**_

_**Only hate the road when you're missin' home**_

_**Only know you love her when you let her go**_

As Hyde watched himself walk away from the sorority house, he saw a figure walking towards the house with a bouquet of flowers. He then was able to make out the face and he groaned.

"Steven Hyde?" The person walking towards the house called out to his future self's retreating form. He watched as his future self lifted his head to see who called his name.

"Jake Bradley?" Hyde questioned.

"Yea man! How are you?" Jake said as he extended his hand out to shake Hyde's hand.

"Uh, I'm good," Hyde said.

"What are you doing here? Man, I heard you got your own record store now! That's pretty sweet," Jake said.

"Yea, it's not so bad," Hyde said, then coughed.

"So what brings you out here? Wait, did you come here to see Jackie?" Jake asked nervously.

Hyde smirked from where he stood with David, Jake Bradley knew he dated Jackie in high school, and he could see he was nervous thinking he had been there to see her. He hoped his future self would see that and would use that to his advantage.

"Yea, uh, I was actually on my way to see Kelso, cuz uh, he lives here in Chicago now with his girlfriend. Has two kids man. And uh, just thought I would stop in and see Jackie since I didn't see her all summer," Hyde said.

Jake seemed to relax after Hyde explained why he was there. "Oh yea, she spent the summer in Mexico with her mom. I actually ran into her there. My parents were renting the cabana next to her mom's on the beach in Cancun. We, uh, actually started dating over the summer," Jake said nervously.

"Oh wow, that's great," Hyde said.

"Yea, I'm actually on my way to pick her up for a date now. So, I know this is kind of weird since the two of you used to date," Jake trailed off.

"Oh man, no worries. We haven't been together in two years," Hyde told him. "Well hey, I need to get to Kelso's, so enjoy your date with Jackie. I didn't get to see her since she was getting ready for her date with you, so don't mention you saw me. It was good to see you," Hyde said as he walked away.

_**And you let her go (oh, oh, ooh, oh no)**_

_**And you let her go (oh, oh, ooh, oh no)**_

_**Will you let her go?**_

__David tapped Hyde on the shoulder and pointed to where his future self was walking, letting him know to follow. He turned briefly to look towards the house, and saw Jackie squeal when she saw Jake and throw her arms around his neck as he handed her the flowers he got her. It made his heart ache to see her that happy with another guy. He then turned to see his future self had walked to a pay phone.

"Kelso? Kelso man come meet me for a drink. Yes now! I don't care! I'm on the Northwester campus. Meet me at Joe's Bar on B Street. Bye."

They then followed his future self into the bar that was a little ways down the street from Jackie's sorority house. He watched himself sit down at the bar and order a few shots of tequila and a beer. He downed the shots and beer in record time. He was on his third beer by the time Kelso showed up.

"Hey man, what's so urgent? Brooke is super pissed that I had to come out," Kelso said. "And what the hell are you doing in Chicago anyway?"

"She's seeing someone, man." Hyde groaned.

"Who?" Kelso asked.

"Who do you think man?" Hyde said as he slammed his mug down. "Jackie!"

"You're still hung up on her?" Kelso asked. "It's been two years, it's about time she's moved onto someone who isn't Fez," Kelso said.

"Jake Bradley, man," Hyde said with a slight slur.

"What about Jake Bradley?" Kelso asked.

"That's who she's seeing!" Hyde exclaimed.

Kelso laughed. "Burn!" Kelso exclaimed. "That kid has been hitting on her since she was a freshman," Kelso said,

"Yea, I know that man. He manipulated her over the summer, The summer I was supposed to get her back man!" Hyde said.

"Hyde man, you're just drunk. You don't want Jackie again. You remember what that was like," Kelso said.

"Yea. It was great. The only time I was ha…less pissed off," Hyde said. "She's out on a date with him right now, man. I need to go see her, tell her how I feel. Right now!" Hyde exclaimed, as he stumbled out of his bar stool.

'_**Cause you only need the light when it's burning low**_

_**Only miss the sun when it starts to snow**_

_**Only know you love her when you let her go**_

_**Only know you've been high when you're feeling low**_

_**Only hate the road when you're missin' home**_

_**Only know you love her when you let her go**_

__Hyde watched himself stumble out of the bar and shook his head, Jackie sure did make him crazy. Kelso followed him out shortly after paying the tab he had racked up.

"Hyde! Hyde man, come on. Don't do this!" Kelso said as he ran to catch up to Hyde.

"Why not? She's mine, she's my girl, always has been," Hyde said,

"No she isn't Hyde. She hasn't been for two years. Remember how I was always trying to meddle in your relationship with Jackie when you first started dating? And how much it pissed you off? Eventually I realized Jackie deserved to be happy. Even if it wasn't me who made her happy. You should do the same. It's time to let her go," Kelso said.

Hyde stopped on the sidewalk in front of the sorority house, Jackie and Jake were walking up from the opposite side, deep in conversation, and didn't see Hyde and Kelso standing a few hundred feet away. Jackie was giggling. And even from where Hyde stood with David, he could see the happiness in Jackie's eyes.

"Man, Kelso. When did you start making sense?" Hyde asked, suddenly sober after seeing Jackie and Jake together.

"I guess when I became a dad," Kelso said

Hyde shook his head. "You know what, you're right man. Look how happy she looks. She hasn't looked that happy since the last time her and I were together. You're right. She deserves to be happy."

Kelso put his arm around Hyde's shoulder. "Come on man, it's late. Brooke is probably super pissed at me. Come back with me to our house, maybe she won't be so pissed at me then. Plus Betsy and Matthew will be super happy to see you in the morning," Kelso said.

'_**Cause you only need the light when it's burning low**_

_**Only miss the sun when it starts to snow**_

_**Only know you love her when you let her go**_

_**Only know you've been high when you're feeling low**_

_**Only hate the road when you're missin' home**_

_**Only know you lover her when you let her go**_

Hyde watched himself walk away with Kelso's arm around his shoulders. He then turned to see Jackie and Jake at the front door of her sorority house. She was giving him that brilliant smile that she so often game him over the years. Her eyes were sparkling, the sparkle she used to always have when they were together, the sparkle he hadn't seen in the other scenarios David had shown him.

He sighed when Jake leaned in to kiss Jackie, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

"Hard to see?" David asked him.

"Yup," was all he answered.

"Well, it's only going to get harder from here on out," David said.

Hyde closed his eyes. "Do you have to show me? This was hard enough. All of this has sucked" Hyde said.

"Unfortunately, if you want to wake up, then yes," David said.

Hyde sighed. "Ok, let's go. Onto the next," Hyde said as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

_**And you let her go**_


End file.
